This Year, Aim Low!

The subtext of every one of my New Year's Resolutions is "low standards."

I remember the great George Jefferson, portrayed by the man who made the role famous, the great Sherman Helmsley.

Middle-aged and a successful business owner, George found a list of goals that he had written as a kid. All things he wanted to accomplish by the time he was like forty. I think he was about to turn like forty or something. One of the items on the list was to be able to bench press his own weight.

After struggling, feeling inadequate, turning his inadequacy into anger projected at his maid, Florence, who humorously stuffed his anger right back in his grits, George decided that he weighed ninety-eight pound when he wrote that list.

He could easily bench press ninety-eight pounds. And he did it!

That's what I'm talking about: Low standards.

Do more or do less. Just do it in a way that your results meet you expectations. Occasionally make your standards so low--like "waking up"-- that you can't help but impress yourself.

Let me make this personal, for the ladies.

My New Year's Resolution this year is not to cook more or to be a Vegetarian.

My New Year's Resolution is to buy one Vegetarian cookbook. Bam. Easy.

Take it easy this year, everyone. The world will probably end in 2012, anyway.